Certain effect of the environment can affect physiological processes such as hormones, neurotransmitters and the brain. The two effect of the environment on physiological processes that will be discussed are the enrichment of certain environments on brain plasticity and the observation of experiences actions on the activation of mirror neurons. The first effect of environment on physiological processes that will be discussed is brain plasticity.
Brain plasticity is the brain’s ability to rearrange its connections with its neurons, that is, the changes that occur in the structure of the brain as a result of learning or experience (exposure to different environments).
The changes that can take place are related to the challenges of the environment and thus represent an adaptation to it. Plasticity occurs every time something new is learnt and it is explicitly shown after brain injury when the brain reorganizes and forms new connections with healthy neurons to compensate for the functions of the damaged area.
A supporting study of brain plasticity is Rosenzweig and Bennett (1972).
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a deprived or enriched environment on neuroplasticity, in particular, the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex. The participants used were rats. The rats were separated and exposed to the two environments, one enriched with toys and one deprived with no toys for 30-60 days before being euthanized. Rats in the stimulating environment had a thicker cortex and heavier frontal lobe compared to rats in the deprived environment.
The Term Paper on Brain Plasticity
... of the lost neurons as well as their own. Evidence has shown that the brain plasticity and behavioral change ... affected when a child comes. Things such as environment, genetic or mood disorders may have an ... The studies show that early brain injury has different effects than a late brain injury. It is difficult ... by putting an electric prod in the rat’s home. The rats at a younger age during surgery ...
This study showed the effect of the environment on physiology because more enriched environments helped develop neurons in brains of the rats. Another supporting study is Draganski et al. (2004) The aim of this study was to determine whether functional and structural changes could be detected in the human brain as a result of learning a new motor skill. 21 females and 3 males were split into 2 groups. One group had to spend 3 months learning a juggling routine for a minimum of 60 seconds then spend 3 months practicing juggling.
The MRI scans showed no structural differences in the groups’ rains before juggling and there was an increase in volume of 2 regions of the jugglers brains associated with the retention of visually detected movement information of learning. Practicing watching balls move and learning to move in response has strengthened the neural connections in brain areas responsible for the activity. This study demonstrates the effect of enrichment on brain plasticity in participants who juggled. The research studies above demonstrate that the more a person performs a particular activity, the more neural connections are formed in the area of the brain responsible, creating a physical change in the brain.
This represents the bidirectional relationship between the environment and physiological processes occurring in the brain. Another way in which the brain interacts with the environment has to do with how people learn is through a unique physiological process called mirror neurons. One of the ways that people learn is by observing others and then imitating their behaviour. Mirror neurons are special neurons, which may play a vital role in the ability to learn as well as empathize with another person.
They placed electrodes in the inferior frontal cortex of macaque monkey’s brains to study neurons dedicated to control of hand movement. This led to the observation that some neurons responded in the same way when monkeys saw a person pick up a peanut as when they are doing it themselves. Mirror neurons help us understand others by providing some kind of inner imitation of actions of other people, which leads us to ‘stimulate’ the intentions and emotions associated with those actions. Mirror neurons activate during social learning, observational learning, learning through observation and imitation.
Homework and Study Environment
Program in Nursing Online Environment March 28, 2011 An online learning environment can be new to some students (Watkins, R. , & Corry, M. , 2009). To be successful in the online environment, there are strategies that can help. The purpose of this paper is to present two strategies for success in an online learning environment. Scheduling time to complete coursework In order to be ...
Mirror neurons make us feel as though we are performing an action by just observing it – we experience an inner imitation of the action. A supporting study for mirror neurons is Simon et al. (2006).
This consisted of studying the anterior cingulate cortex of awake human subjects. Certain neurons that typically fire in response to pain also fired when the person saw someone else in pain. The study shows that the same neurons fire in response to pain for a variety of human subjects, which reinforced how the environment affects physiological processes similarly across most humans.
In conclusion the two discussed effects on the environment on physiological processes are: enrichment on brain plasticity and observation of experienced actions on the activation of mirror neurons. The interactions occur when the enriched environments affect the neural connections in the brain by reorganizing the neural connections related to functions that are required in the enriched environment/condition. EXPLAIN HOW ONE OR MORE NEUROTRANSMITTERS AFFECT HUMAN BEHAVIOUR: One of the most important discoveries that have influenced psychology is the role of neurotransmitters in behaviour, thought and emotion.
Neurotransmission underlies behaviour as varied as mood, memory and mental illness. There are various types of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine and noradrenaline that influence behaviour. Several studies have been undertaken to demonstrate the effects of neurotransmission on human behaviour. One example of a neurotransmitter is serotonin, which is commonly associated with depression and aggression. Serotonin is a body regulator, it controls bodily processes such as sleep, libido and body temperature.
It protects us from negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. Serotonin stimulates neurotransmission in the post-synaptic neuron, increasing arousal, emotion and is also implicated in depression. One example of how serotonin can affect behaviour was seen by Kasamatsu and Hirai (1999).
The Essay on Psychology: Human Memory
The article addresses the problems of interference as related to implicit memory. The study reveals the inconsistencies of the previous studies in the area of explicit and implicit memory, and the impact of interference on the memory performance. The authors of the article analyze the three major studies conducted in previous years. Lustig & Hasher (2001) refer to interference as “a primary ...
The aim of their study was to see how sensory deprivation affects the brain and to see how serotonin affects behaviour. They studied a group of Buddhist monks who went on a 72-hour pilgrimage to a holy mountain in Japan, the monks did not consume food or water, didn’t speak and were exposed to cold weather.
Researchers took a blood sample before the monks went into the mountain and immediately after they reported having hallucinations. After about 48 hours, the monks began to have hallucinations, seeing ancient ancestors or feeling their prescience by their sides. They found that serotonin level had increased in the monks’ brains and thus the higher levels of serotonin activated the hypothalamus and frontal cortex resulting in the hallucinations. The researchers concluded that sensory deprivation triggered the release of serotonin, which altered the way that monks experienced the world, a behaviour expressed by humans.
Thus this study shows that serotonin affects the human behaviour in terms of arousal and emotion. Another example of a neurotransmitter is acetylcholine. It is associated with the brain – in how it involved in learning and memory. Its present in the peripheral nervous system and acetylcholine receptors are found widely throughout the body and brain. A supporting study of how acetylcholine can affect behaviour was seen by researchers, Martinez and Kesner (1991).
Their aim was to determine the role of acetylcholine on memory, specifically memory formation.
Rats were trained to go through a maze, after the rats were able to do this he injected the first group with scopolamine, which blocks acetylcholine receptors, the second group with physostigmine, which blocks production of cholinesterase (does ‘cleanup’ of acetylcholine from synapse) and the third control group had no injections. The group injected with scopolamine was slower at finding their way around the maze and made more errors than the control group. The group injected with physostigmine ran faster compared to both groups and made fewer wrong turns.
In conclusion, acetylcholine played an important role in creating a memory of the maze. Thus this study shows that acetylcholine affects the human behaviour of memory causing an increase in memory functions with higher amounts of acetylcholine compared to lower levels of acetylcholine, which decreases memory functioning. In conclusion neurotransmission is an effective way to communicate messages through the brain, thus neurotransmitters such as serotonin and acetylcholine affect specific human behaviour such as mood and memory. Overall it can be seen that neurotransmitters do affect human behaviour in a variety of ways.
The Essay on Memory Recall And Recognition For A Common Object
The aim of this of this study was to investigate the accuracy of long term memory for a common object and more precisely to examine the differences between memory recognition and recall. Six participants took part in the experiment, three were assigned to the recognition task and three to the recall. The recognition group were required to answer yes or no to a series of questions relating to ...
